Your fail may be a winner
General Electric caught our attention with its GE Reimagining Home Cooking Fail Redemption, a contest where you submit your best (worst?) cooking failure story for a chance to win three GE appliances — and be studied by GE kitchen designers. The contest is part of GE's new brand campaign, Reimagining Home, and poses the question: "If your kitchen could study you, and your failures, how would it adapt to make your life easier, your meals better?" Three winners go to Louisville, Ky., to re-create their "fail" with an expert chef and, ideally, find a way to succeed in the future. To learn more, visit www.ge.com/appliances. (That site, full of photos of fails, is pretty entertaining.) Entry deadline is Tuesday.
The science of food
On a more serious note, the September issue of Scientific American magazine explores the complexities and mysteries of food. Among the topics is obesity, as more than a third of Americans now are considered greatly overweight, more than twice the proportion of 40 years ago. Can drugs similar to those used to diminish nicotine cravings be used against fat and sugar cravings? SA also looks at genetically modified food, the labeling controversy and safety testing. Finally, the magazine explores the devastated honeybee population and alternatives to using fertilizers and pesticides on crops. It's on newsstands now, or visit www.scientificamerican.com.
Cheese please contest
Grilled cheese sandwiches can be a lot more inventive than you think. That's the idea behind Great Midwest's contest seeking sammies made with the brand's specialty cheeses. The grand prize winner will receive a weekend trip to the "Great Midwest" city of their choice, including airfare, hotel accommodations and spending money. Two silver- and five bronze-tier winners will receive grills, panini presses or cookbooks. If entrants share their participation via social media, they get bonus points. For details, visit www.greatmidwestcheese.com.
